Forum for the San Francisco Peninsula Ashtanga Yoga Community

Lessons Learned from Led Second Series with Sharath

So most of you know I’ve been in Encinitas this week to practice led second series with Sharath….

There have been four years and one baby since last time. So I had some vague memory of pain and torture and came to see whether anything had changed. (this is tongue in cheek, then again its also not).
Brave Allie Payne came here with me to try the class.

Some truths were affirmed. Others were learned.

Here’s the list:

1. Its better not to think about things in advance. You can handle each moment as it comes but if you think about it in advance you only cause yourself more pain. Denial can be a good thing.

2. Sharath is very slow these days. To some extent we all knew Guruji would go fast because he needed to save his energy. Sharath no longer has that limitation.

3. However to be fair, when you get down to it there are about three really painful moments in the practice of second with Sharath. I’ll let you guess what they are.

4. In those moments you breathe and let go and if you keep coming back they are better second and third day. You also might cry.

5. Its always better to ask Sharath for permission to come to class if you have not been there before. Otherwise you stand a strong chance of getting booted at Pasasana. Especially strong chance if you come in with a cocky attitude. No further comments on this matter….

Allie had no such attitude, and we did ask, so she made it through. In spite of starting class with shaking hands based on yoga folk at hotel telling her to not push to hard in standing to prepare for what was coming. Refer back to 1.

6. Do your practice and all is coming. Even after babies and years of not practicing or practicing through injuries, pain, etc., things do keep shifting and changing and its not all for the worse.

7. There is still something magical about Ashtanga yoga. We do A’s and B’s, breathe in and breathe out, but there is still something magical, well, and alive that goes beyond the breath in and breath out. When I come back to these places I remember it again. When you sit watching people move and breathe together there’s something palpable in that room and its magical to behold.

8. Tim Miller cannot be avoided in Encinitas. 😉 We went for a walk on the beach the first day we were here and he appeared in front of us on the beach. He was very gracious and when we asked he said we were welcome at his studio. As political as things can be at some moments ashtangis are good people. And he was very lovely to us.

9. Encinitas is a very good place for family kids and vacation. Aurora has been positively drunk with beach/sand/kids/legoland playing joy. There’s also no shortage of vegan and veg places to eat/shop. So for yogis this place is pretty much paradise.

Einar and I were musing that the places you go on vacation are always perfect and will remain that way in your mind forever as long as you don’t move there. 🙂 Whether you come to practice with Sharath or Tim its truly a lovely place to spend time.

We have one more day before we drive home, if all goes well I won’t be practicing with you Sunday having earned my rest, but I should be able to bring chai and see you all for a moment after class.